Jamie Foxx has been maddeningly successful across showbiz platforms, so why don't we
hear from him anymore?
Failed projects, a mysterious romance, and some bad press could explain his Hollywood
hiatus, but the good news: Foxx may come back bigger than ever.
Although he won both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for his role as Ray Charles
in 2004's Ray, by 2015, Foxx had essentially disappeared from the silver screen.
But was 2014's ratings-disaster, Annie, at all to blame?
"So what's the hustle?
The more we're seen together the better it is for my campaign.”
For what it's worth, the original film was a tough act to follow.
Despite opening during the height of awards season, the reboot failed to capture much
critical acclaim.
Foxx's role as Will Stacks also garnered very little fanfare.
Foxx has been very quiet over the years when it comes to matters of the heart.
But even though he won't admit it, he's been romantically linked to actress Katie Holmes
for years.
"If I do fall in love with somebody, you'll never know about it.”
The pair reportedly became more than friends in 2013, according to E! News.
And Foxx has even denied dating Holmes on a number of occasions, quipping to the outlet
in 2015,
"Oh come on, you guys have been trying to get that to stick for three years."
However, Real Housewives of Atlanta star Claudia Jordan seemed to confirm a relationship between
Holmes and Foxx on a podcast, before later claiming,
"I misspoke.”
As for exactly why Foxx refuses to let the public dig into his private life, he told
ET he steers clear of media pressure, claiming,
"I like to stay quiet, you know, with anyone that I'm dating; that I'm really, really dating."
Like anyone, Foxx can occasionally insert his foot into his mouth.
Like he did in 2016 when - as the OscarsSoWhite diversity discussion began to take shape - he
joked at the American Black Film Festival Awards,
"All these Oscar talks […] I was sitting at home with my Oscar, like 'What's all the
hubbub?'
[…] I started calling Denzel [Washington], and we just Instagrammed our Oscars together."
Many felt Foxx's remarks were insensitive, considering only a handful of minorities have
ever earned nominations, much less captured Oscar gold.
Foxx never apologized for his comments, but it's likely he lost a few friends in the matter.
"At that moment of winning an Oscar, was fantastic…
But it can also be too heavy sometimes.
And I always wanted to stay fun.”
A 2017 series might have given Foxx his most unlikely skill set yet: game show producer
and host of Beat Shazam.
The show asks contestants to quickly identify current and recent pop songs — and to answer
faster than, you guessed it, Shazam.
Audiences enjoyed Foxx in this new role so much that the network ordered a second season
of Beat Shazam before it even finished airing its first.
The show also featured Jamie's daughter, Corinne Foxx, as the resident on-stage DJ, and co-host.
"Girl if you weren't my child.
Turn your face away Corinne, turn away Corinne."
Foxx partnered with Showtime in 2017 to create a series loosely based on his own experiences
as a struggling young comedian.
"Whachu want?
Get your beautiful black butt cheeks to Century City for a meeting!”
Foxx's White Famous had a dark and satirical edge, with lead character Floyd Mooney weighing
the pros and cons of breaking out of the world of "black comedy" and into mainstream success
- aka becoming, quote, "white famous."
While the show was sort of based on his own life, Foxx confusingly guest-starred in two
episodes as…
Jamie Foxx.
"So what's the problem?
It's the dress, huh?
Everybody always trip on the dress.”
Unfortunately, the show failed to find its audience, and Showtime canceled it after ten
episodes.
With 2017's Baby Driver, Beat Shazam, and even White Famous reacquainting audiences
with the Jamie Foxx brand, the actor's career seems to be on the rise, yet again.
The 2018 flop Robin Hood may have been a step in the wrong direction, but Foxx's Instagram
revealed that he's producing a series about another colorful and troubled music legend:
Marvin Gaye.
He captioned a snap:
"Cannot wait to bring this man's legacy and life to the world.
I was impacted personally in the most incredible way!
As an executive producer […] I vow to make it epic!"
Foxx is also set to headline All Star Weekend with Jeremy Piven and Robert Downey, Jr..
"All Star Weekend is about two guys, it's a movie, one guy love Steph Curry, the other
one loves LeBron James, they just tryin’ to get to the All Star game.”
The sports comedy will also serve as Foxx's big-screen writing and directorial debut.
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